How Abraham Lincoln Would Have Approached New Year’s Resolutions

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“We must think anew, and act anew.” – Abraham Lincoln

Did anyone in history understand the importance of thinking and acting anew more than Abraham Lincoln? When President Lincoln wrote the words above, his beloved country was facing its darkest hour: The Civil War. He wrote, “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. We must think anew, and act anew.”

2010 is on our doorstep. In fact, as I’m typing these words, he’s making his way into many homes. The type of house guest he’ll become is, to a large extent up to us. If we are able to approach old problems with new solutions, he may be the finest house guest we’ve ever had. However, if we keep doing that which isn’t quite good enough, he’ll be like the overbearing uncle that always wears out his welcome as he wears out our nerves.

Thinking and acting anew is pretty much what New Year’s Resolutions are all about. When the man who is 40 pounds overweight sits down with his pen and paper and writes “Eat out less often…. Walk for 30 minutes each day…. No more fries!… etc.” he is, in fact, finding new approaches to 40 old problems. In the period of time that he spends with his pen and paper, his mind searches for new actions that’ll solve his problem, new ideas that’ll lead him to a happier and healthier life. If he just wrote “Lose weight” on his paper, he wouldn’t be making a resolution as much as he’d be making a wish.

If you want your own New Year’s Resolutions to help guide you along the path to making your dreams come true, be specific. Take specific problems and come up with specific solutions.

As one of the greatest Americans to ever live said, “We must think anew, and act anew.”

I’d like to take the opportunity to wish you the happiest and healthiest 2010 imaginable. I hope you laugh daily, love deeply, and live life as it’s meant to be lived – out loud and with a smile on your face. If you have big dreams, I hope you’ll never quit running toward them and if you have high hopes, I hope you never quit reaching for them. God bless you and those you dearly love! Happy New Year! – Joi

Reader Interactions

Comments

If only I could make a new era resolution for the whole world – it would be to eliminate poverty, enact a binding world truce banning all wars, full protection of natural resources, and encourage valued living.
For myself I will try to enjoy each day free of stress and worry and make a new friend at every opportunity.
Keep up with your generous efforts Joi and best wishes for 2010 and way beyond …
.-= Grampa Ken on Life and Social Change´s last blog ..2059 What a Wonderful Year =-.

Hello and Happy New Year to you. I haven’t actually read this article but I’ve been reading a lot of your others. You sound so nice and lovely and kind. And an animal lover as well. I just wondered if you might be able to give some tips about starting up blogging. How long have you been blogging for? You have such a lovely blog and your message is very similar to my own. Do you find that writing about inspirational things helps your own life? I do! 🙂

This is inspiring – thanks very much. I’ve spent the last five years working like a maniac and finding myself acting in ways unrecognisable to my old self. Although I thought about making a change for some time, it is only now that I have decided to do something about it. I’ve created my own blog to help me with the process http://lonelylittlebitch.com/.

Thanks for the incredibly sweet words, they made my day! I’ve been blogging for years and years now – since I can remember, actually! Here’s an article I recently wrote about blogging – http://www.selfhelpdaily.com/how-to-blog/ and below are two other ones I wrote a while back.

As for helping in my own life, writing, research, and blogging most definitely do! The more I read and learn, the more I realize just how much I have left to learn! Writing my blog posts remind me of keeping a journal, in a way – and that’s always enlightening and inspiring.

Best of luck, Jacqui, and keep at it. Giving up is easy – especially when you’re starting out. But if you hang in there, it could be the best thing you ever did for yourself! – Joi

I have to say that I was curious about the same thing and I talked to my doctor about it last week. He informed me the body is like a machine that needs the right amount of water and fuel in order to run correctly. He suggested that I see a dietician and other health professional at [Indianapolis Hospitals to help me on my journey to health. He also stated your body will give you signs when it had too much or too little of water. He also recommends that I take time to mediate everyday to allow my mind to refresh like a computer. I have tried this method and it is helpful especially when the previous day was hell.

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Guest and/or Sponsored Posts

When you see an article labeled “Articles by Other Authors,” this means the post is either a sponsored post or a post by a freelance writer, looking to build his/her online portfolio. All posts written by me are signed with my name ~ Joi.

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